Current open-path techniques that are capable of measuring methane leaks over long paths include diode laser-based absorption systems, LIDAR systems, and FTIR-based systems. Mobile FTIR systems suffer from low wavelength resolution (large instrument distortion), and have thus far only demonstrated ˜5-10% measurement uncertainty for trace greenhouse gases (GHGs), which is far too great to detect, locate, and size methane leaks at kilometer scale standoff distances.
Diode laser-based systems and LIDAR systems focus on measurements of a few wavelengths around a single absorption feature of methane (or a wavelength sweep over 1-2 features). High precision, long-term stability, and accuracy is difficult due to turbulence-induced laser intensity fluctuations and interference from overlapping absorption of other molecules that are not included in spectral fits. Even techniques which rely on detection of phase shifts induced by absorption features (instead of direct absorption) must account for phase shift induced by any absorbing component in the beam path and neighboring absorption features.
Sparse wavelength laser systems also do not typically measure other species, temperature, pressure, or water vapor. A simultaneous measurement of water vapor, temperature, and pressure is desirable for correcting measured methane mole fractions to dry-air mole fractions, to account for time varying dilution effects of water vapor change on the apparent concentration of methane. In addition, water vapor, temperature and pressure influence methane absorption feature shape, which is important when fitting the absorption features to accurately extract the methane mole fraction for calibration-free operation.
Many previous methane studies near oil and gas operations were performed with commercial cavity-ringdown laser spectrometers (CRDS) either fixed, or mounted on vehicles and aircraft. These spectrometers enable very high sensitivity with short measurement times, but require periodic calibration, and are expensive. For specific leak detection with inversion techniques, the sensors either require an operator (pilot or driver) or a network of multiple expensive sensors and common calibration.
Several other types of low-cost in-situ sensors for methane exist. Some focus on making flux measurements because they are not stable over long periods of time. Others lack the measurement precision needed to identify smaller leaks or need to be calibrated often and corrected for effects of temperature, pressure, humidity, or other interfering species (possibly requiring regular access to the well pad). Other in-situ sensors with lower cost than CRDS sensors still require either an operator to get spatial information or multiple sensors. Using multiple sensors requires intercalibration and inter-comparability between the various sensors to correct for background fluctuations in methane with a remote background sensor or to compare methane concentration between sites. In a distributed system, each sensor may require power and communication.
A need remains in the art for apparatus and methods for detecting gas leaks capable of sensitivity, accuracy, lack of calibration, and multi-species operation over kilometer-scale paths.